The IDF struck key installations in Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime, to prevent advanced weapons from falling into the hands of those hostile to Israel.
Following the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have reportedly conducted over 300 airstrikes across Syria. This new round of strikes followed the first ones on the day Assad fled the country, which were meant to destroy suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets.
The new strikes
According to Israeli sources, the military attacked “320 strategic targets,” in an operation called “Bashan Arrow,” after the biblical name for the region in the Golan Heights and southern Syria. The operation was divided in multiple phases, with the first focused on the destruction of air defenses.
The Israeli military says it carried out strikes against 320 “strategic targets” in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime over the weekend, destroying advanced weaponry Israel fears could fall into the hands of hostile elements including Hezbollah.
The name of the operation…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 10, 2024
The new strikes targeted key Syrian military infrastructure, including a research center with suspected links to chemical weapon production and a site in Damascus, the Syrian Capital, said to have been used for rocket development by Iranian scientists.
Situation of the former scientific research center in north of Damascus after Israeli strikes. pic.twitter.com/rBcUeu6joe
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 10, 2024
They have also hit other weapons and ammunition arsenals, the Syrian Air Force and Navy and weapons research centers. Locations included sites near or in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Among the targets struck is the port of Latakia, where several vessels have been destroyed, including six Osa II-class missile boats. The real extent to the damage is unclear, but Israel is claiming its Navy has destroyed all the Syrian Navy’s vessels.
***UPDATE***
Images of sunken Syrian navy ships following last night’s Israeli Navy strike on Latakia, Syria.
6 x vintage OSA-II class missile boats.
— H I Sutton (@covertshores.bsky.social) 10 dicembre 2024 alle ore 13:15
Situation in the port of Latakia after the Israeli strikes. https://t.co/LNFVszUNkP pic.twitter.com/bEsn5tbcK1
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 10, 2024
Israeli sources claimed that the Syrian Air Force reportedly had all its MiG-29s and a large number of Su-22 and Su-24 aircraft destroyed. Images and videos emerged so far show MiG-21 and MiG-29 destroyed, as well as armed Gazelle helicopters and air defense systems, with penetrating munitions used to destroy aircraft in hardened shelters.
Several MiG-29s of the Syrian Air Force were claimed to have been destroyed yesterday, as a result of Strikes by the Israeli Air Force on Khalkhalah Air Base in the Suwayda Governorate. pic.twitter.com/T7sWOXQPwU
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 9, 2024
Reportedly the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Syrian air bases.
Dozens of planes, helicopters and defense systems were destroyed. pic.twitter.com/0u1lrGFPuZ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 10, 2024
The reasons
Israeli officials emphasized that these strikes aimed to prevent advanced weapons from falling into the hands of extremists hostile to Israel, such as Iran-affiliated militias or radical insurgents now vying for control in the power vacuum left by Assad’s downfall. These weapons more than likely include chemical weapons, which Assad was notorious for using against his own citizens. The strikes come as the UN’s chemical watchdog warns authorities in Syria to ensure that suspected stockpiles of chemical weapons are safe.
The Israeli strikes currently do not seem to have any reported civilian casualties, including infrastructure. According to BBC reports, the locations struck by the IDF were being guarded by HTS men and journalists were denied access to see the damage for themselves.
IDF strikes within Syria and other nations are not a new concept – Israel has openly admitted bombing targets associated with Iran and terror groups associated with Iran, such as Hezbollah. Notably, the US has also conducted strikes within Syria to limit ISIS affiliated groups from exploiting the volatile situation in the country.
The Syrian Rebels and Israel’s stance
The Israeli attacks on Syrian soil come after a successful revolution in which rebel groups, led by the Islamist opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the dictator Bashar al-Assad’s reign over Syria. Assad was backed extensively by Iran, Hezbollah and Russia.
The rebellion was a swift and decisive operation. With Assad’s two most powerful backers significantly weakened – Hezbollah in the Israel-Gaza war and cross-border air strikes between Israel and Lebanon, and Russia spending resources in the Ukraine war – HTS and its rebels were able to capture large swathes of Syria, including the capital city of Damascus.
The dictator and his father had been in power since 1971, and ruled with an iron fist. Rumors circulated of an Il-76, with Assad on board, crashed on Dec. 9, 2024, but it was later revealed by the Kremlin that Assad had safely fled to Moscow with his British wife and two adult children.
HTS was a direct affiliate of Al Qaeda, and is one of the founders of the Islamic State. Although Assad had links with Hezbollah and Iran, some of Israel’s worst enemies, Israeli calculations in 2011 showed that what would follow the regime could potentially be much worse for them than the Assad government.
Situation in the Golan Heights
Israeli ground forces, including tanks and personnel, also crossed the Golan Heights on Dec. 9, after Syrian troops left their posts. This is in order to “not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our [Israel’s] border.” According to Nehanyahu, the IDF’s seizure of Syrian positions in the buffer zone was a “temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found”.
The unit deployed is the 98th Division, which is composed of a Commando Brigade, a regular full-time Paratrooper Brigade and up to 2 Reserve Paratrooper Brigades. The deployment of troops followed Israeli president Nehanyahu’s announcement that the IDF had seized control over the DMZ, claiming that the 1974 agreement had effectively “collapsed” with the rebel takeover.
The Golan Heights are an Israeli-occupied area next to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between Israel and Syria, taken from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967, and annexed in 1981. It is especially of interest to the IDF perhaps because of the family ties to Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the HTS leader, who was originally from the region.
Israel has released a statement saying that the IDF was only taking “limited and temporary steps” for “security reasons” to protect its own citizens and that they had no interest in internal Syrian affairs.
